about : president's letter

FROM THE PRESIDENT by Johnne Syverson, CFP®, CAP
Summer 2008

Once again the AiP Conference on Philanthropy held April 24-26 in Chicago was a phenomenal experience for the record crowd who attended.  If you missed it this year, you can still order the audio CDs of every presentation by mailing-in this form.   Hats off to Alan Pratt and his Conference Committee for doing an outstanding job of attracting top talent to our Conference.

A few Conference highlights –

The AiP Scott Fithian Leadership Award this year was presented to Dr. Paul Schervish of Boston College for his untiring efforts to help raise awareness of the need for people of all wealth levels to get in touch with their own spirit of giving back to the society which has been so generous to us all.

The introduction to the new philanthropy TV network, Starfish, was rolled out at the Conference.   This new network devoted entirely to philanthropic programming 24/7 will give AiP members and their client/donors a wonderful public forum to display their passions for various philanthropic efforts to a national audience.  There was much buzz and excitement at the Conference for this new venue through which philanthropic principles can be communicated to the masses.

A powerful presentation on the importance of collaboration between the non-profit sector and the professional advisory sector was presented by the dynamic duo of Tracy Gary (Inspired Legacy) and Phil Cubeta (The Nautilus Group of New York Life).  Phil and Tracy have discovered the joys of working together for the common good while recognizing the strengths they each bring to the donor’s table in providing sound advice and counsel in making philanthropic life decisions.  If you missed this presentation – buy the CD!

After a full day of Pre-Conference sessions surrounding the preparation courses for the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) curriculum, 14 attendees passed one of their exams leading to the CAP designation.  AiP is the only organization offering on-site training and testing for the CAP designation.

The Conference enjoyed an international flavor with members attending from Australia and Canada.  AiP has added a new Board Member to be our Canadian laison to help us attract more Canadian members to AiP.  Enzo Calamo from Vancouver, British Colombia was elected to the Board to serve in that capacity.  Welcome Enzo!

I invite you to stay tuned for ongoing learning experiences in the area of philanthropy by attending AiP’s monthly Teleconferences right from your own office.  There is no charge for these one hour Teleconferences for AiP members.  Check the AiP web site for topics, dates and times of the upcoming Teleconference opportunities.

If you are not currently a member of AiP or know of someone you think would benefit from networking with like-minded professionals, please read our membership application for details.

Here to Serve,

Johnne Syverson, CAP, CFP®, AEP
AiP President